Patient and Care Delays of Breast Cancer in China

This study differentiates patient and care delays of breast cancer and explores the related factors as well as the associations with the prognosis in Guangzhou, a southern city of China.

A cohort of female incident breast cancer patients (n=1,551) was recruited from October 2008 to March 2012 and followed up until January 1, 2016 (n=1,374) in the affiliated hospitals of Sun Yat-sen University. The factors associated with patient and care delays were analyzed with multivariable logistic models. Cox proportional hazards regression models were constructed to estimate the impacts of the delays on the prognosis.

There were 40.4% patient delay (≥3 months) and 15.5% care delay (≥1 month). The patient delay, but not the care delay, was significantly related to the clinical stage and consequently worsened the prognosis of breast cancer (hazard ratio, 1.45; 95% confidence interval, 1.09 to 1.91 for progression-free survival). The factors related to an increased patient delay included premenopausal status, history of benign breast disease, and less physical examination.

Patient delay was the main type of delay in Guangzhou and resulted in higher clinical stage and poor prognosis of breast cancer. Screening for breast cancer among premenopausal women may be an effective way to reduce this delay.